Rhydderch
Rhydderch (''hr''eð-ERKH) is the Lord Governor of Powys and second cousin of Uther Pendragon. He is also the maternal uncle of Arthur. Family Rhydderch's father was the nephew of Constantine II, and thus Rhydderch claims a firm connection to the Royal Family. His mother was a princess of Dumnonia. Rhydderch's sister, Ygrayne, died in 501 and left her young son, Arthur, in Rhydderch's care. Background Rhydderch was born in Caersws, Powys, in 478, the son of Dillus of Powys and Canaid of Dumnonia. Since he was a child he has posessed the faerie sight: the ability to see creatures of the Otherworld. It is a trait he claims runs in his mother's side of the family. He was schooled in the ways of faeries by his maternal grandmother, also a posessor of the sight. His mother died when he was young and his busy father often left him in the care of that grandmother. Betrothal to Betrys of Dyfed After Eifion, Lord Governor of Dyfed, borrowed money from him and later had no means of paying it back, Rhydderch propsed to Eifion that, in order to make it up to him, Eifion would betroth his daughter Betrys to him. Since Betrys' former fiancee, Sir Cadwgawn, was presumed dead, Eifion agreed to the arrangement. Sir Cadwgawn returned to Dyfed alive, however, and accused Rhydderch of stealing Betrys from him. The two got into an altercation, being the start of a long term grudge against one and other. Rhydderch's wedding to Betrys, though, still went according to plan despite Sir Cadwgawn's return. Eifion's Death WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW! While visiting his father-in-law in Dyfed a few months after the wedding, Rhydderch's true nature finally came to light. Out of jealousy and greed, Rhydderch murdered Eifion by smothering him in his bed and made it appear as though the old man had simply died in his sleep. After Eifion's death, Rhydderch inherited all of his land and his title, becoming lord of Dyfed and Powys. Arawn and Rhydderch After Lord Efion's funeral, Rhydderch caught King Arawn of Annwn sneaking around the castle of Caerfyrddin. Since he posessed the Faerie Sight, Rhydderch was able to see him in the first place, stopping the Faerie King in his tracks. At first, Arawn refused to supply Rhydderch with any information about why he was there, requesting only to meet with Lord Eifion. However, when Rhydderch explained that Eifion was dead and that he was now Lord of Dyfed, Arawn finally explained that he wished to see the prisoner Cadwgawn. Rhydderch was unaware of Cadwgawn's prior arrest, but was delighted to lead Arawn down to the dungeon to help find him. Cadwgawn was not there, however, and the dungeon guard explained to Rhydderch that Cadwgawn escaped several days earlier. Angered, Rhydderch ordered that a guard be sent out to find Cadwgawn. After the dungeon guard left, Rhydderch explained to Arawn that in return for a wish from the faerie, Cadwgawn would be found and turned over. Arawn refused to grant any wishes to Rhydderch, but Rhydderch immediately retaliated by using Arawn's full name (a piece of information given to him by his grandmother) to order Arawn to give him a wish. Rhydderch wished for Arawn to make him an amulet of persuasion magic, and Arawn was helpless but to comply with the wish. Rhydderch took the amulet after Arawn made it for him, and ordered the faerie away, still with the promise that he would track down Cadwgawn and hand him over. Personality Rhydderch is a megalomaniac, obsessed with power and control and constantly seeking out ways to find it. He is insanely jealous of his cousin, King Pendragon, delusionally believing that he is the rightful king rather than Pendragon. Secretly, Rhydderch plots to murder him so he can take over the throne of the Kingdom. He is as manipulative as he is dangerous. He is also malignantly narcissistic and, at times, utterly sociapathic, only caring about how he can make himself more powerful regardless of the cost to others. Category:Humans Category:Characters Category:Court of Powys Category:Court of Dyfed Category:Royalty of Britain